Transmission Blues!
Fish Report (or absence of) 10/1/21
Greetings All,
I've never had more difficulty removing anything from a boat. Lost my starboard gear (a transmission on shore) last Saturday. The boys and I spent four days getting the gear back 3 inches..
Seriously - Three Inches. Every kind of crowbar, pinch bar, pry bar, all manner of wedges, 2 sets of triple fall block & tackle; house jacks, a chain hoist - all were employed & at no time did the gear give any small fraction of an inch easily.
I've had 6, 10, & 12 cylinder engine rebuilds finished & back fishing done more swiftly.
Seems as though the gear's teeth became enmeshed at the torsional coupling (here a vulcan coupling - a shock absorber between engine and propeller shaft that allows a boat to go in and out of gear without wrenching all that really expensive steel apart) ..with many teeth partially lost, for our purpose the two heavy metal gears were near about welded in place.
Never Give Up, Never Give In.
Just after lunch on day four - 9/29 - success. The gear is now in the very capable hands of shop foreman Cuffy at the Twin Disc shop in Norfolk.
If you happen to know where there's an MG 508-1 SC Twin Disc marine gear, I'm all ears. We'll sort something out before long.
My reservation Queen too, Anna has recently had a sorrowful event in the passing of her father. She needs some time. In that respect, at least, our want of repair is well timed.
I've yet to open October reservations. Frankly, I haven't enough vision to guess when my next trip will be — other than As Soon As Possible.
I do not like being ashore on a nice day.
At all.
Nor on a marginal day, really.
I am at home at sea.
New gear or repaired gear; once reinstalled, engine realigned & sea trialed: when I at last open my reservation book it won't be a secret.
Fall is my favorite time of year. I want to go fishing ..and I want to build reef.
Bear Concrete just sent another trailer load of pyramids.
More on reef tomorrow.
Pics, as always, on FaceBook..
Cheers
Monty
